Contributing to the Human Spirit: Arts Education and the Creative Economy Michael M. Kaiser, President, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Testimony Before the Senate and House of the Louisiana Legislature

Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser was invited by Louisiana's Lt. Governor Mitchell Landrieu to address the Senate and House of the Louisiana Legislature on the importance of arts education and in support of Senate Bill 299. The Bill would require 60 minutes of instruction per week in both visual and the performing arts for students in kindergarten through grade 8 and also would require high school students to take a course in either the visual arts or the performing arts as a prerequisite to graduation. The following is a complete transcript of his speech.

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the distinguished members of the Senate/House on the importance of arts education in the lives of young people in Louisiana. I appreciate Lt. Governor Landrieu’s invitation to testify and for his leadership of and support for the Cultural Economy Initiatives. This legislation will not only benefit the people of Louisiana, but will send a message to the nation about Louisiana’s commitment to culture, to the arts, and to quality education.

I have the honor to serve as President of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, our national cultural center. The Kennedy Center serves as the nation’s memorial to President Kennedy. President Kennedy said that "when the dust of centuries has passed over our cities we, too, will be remembered, not for victories or defeats in battles or politics but rather for our contributions to the human spirit." It is this sentiment that motivates us to produce and present the best of the performing arts and to play a major role in educating and enlightening the nation’s children. In fact, we are now reaching 25,000 teachers and 11 million people in all 50 states through a variety of activities including touring performances for children and families, teacher training programs, online resources for students and teachers, and a satellite network that beams programming to classrooms throughout our nation. We believe these programs play a vital role in supplementing the academic experiences of the young people we reach.

The condition of our education system today is the subject of much discussion—not just here in Louisiana, but throughout the United States. In an effort to improve the quality of American education, standardized tests have been put in place as the rule by which a school is measured. As a result, today’s schools have too often become centers for the well tested, rather than the well educated. Achieving high test scores has frequently become the goal of our schools, rather than offering the kind of well-rounded education that is needed for success in today’s increasingly competitive work places.

Let me share with you some of the findings of a recent report by the National Center on Education and the Economy. The Center commissioned leaders in business, education, and government to study our education system and make recommendations for reforms. In their publication titled “Tough Choices or Tough Times” they point out what is wrong with our current test-based educational policies. The report says “Too often, our testing system rewards students who will be good at routine work, while not providing opportunities for students to display creative and innovative thinking and analysis.”

The report predicts that in the current and future economy, “the best employers the world over will be looking for the most competent, most creative, and most innovative people on the face of the earth. Candidates will have to be comfortable with ideas and abstractions, good at both analysis and synthesis, creative and innovative, self-disciplined and well-organized, able to learn very quickly and work well as a member of a team.”

So where do we turn? What resources can we provide to our teachers and our students to help them develop the critical thinking, creativity, discipline, and analytical skills they need to succeed in the global economy?

The answer is the arts. The National Center on Education and the Economy’s report further states, “the arts will be an indispensable foundation for everything that comes after for most members of the workforce.” Learning through the arts reinforces crucial academic skills in reading, language arts, and math. But just as important, learning through the arts gives young people the skills they need to analyze and synthesize information, and to solve complex problems.

The connection between arts education and improved academic performance has been proven again and again. According to research by Americans for the Arts, young people who participate in the arts are:

• four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement,
• four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair,
• three times more likely to be elected to a class office within their school,
• three times more likely to win an award for school attendance, and
• four times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.

And it works even in the most economically challenged communities. A study by the Arts Education Partnership, tracking the results in schools in these communities, shows that arts programs keep children in school—children who might otherwise act out or drop out become enthusiastic learners. The study also showed that arts education programs increase teacher effectiveness and reduce teacher turnover in these challenging schools.

At the Kennedy Center, we have seen first hand the dramatic impact that arts education can have on a school’s bottom line. Including the arts throughout the curriculum is the key to success—creating the kind of education that keeps young people in school, keeps teachers committed and creative, and keeps families and communities united in support of an education system they believe in.

The benefits of arts education, in terms of skill building, are immeasurable. But if you want measurable data in the form of test scores, we can provide that as well.

Recently, the State of Maryland conducted an evaluation of three public schools. The evaluation focused on curriculum, instruction, professional development, and student and teacher outcomes, including test scores. The evaluation showed that in the school that had Kennedy Center arts education programs, fifth grade math scores rose 15.4% and reading scores were 4.1% higher. Third grade math scores were up 7.9% and third grade reading scores rose an astonishing 18.9%.

Now, there are many factors that can contribute to these results. But according to the findings of the evaluation, teachers most frequently pointed to the arts education courses given by the Kennedy Center as having had the greatest impact on their teaching and their students’ performance. In addition to improved test scores, the teachers reported that their students were more confident, more comfortable taking risks, and more socially adept.

The arts prepare students for the workforce, and encourage and enable them to continue their education. Again, test scores offer proof. In a review of 2005 college-bound seniors, research showed that high school students who took arts classes had higher math and verbal SAT scores than students who take no arts classes. Specifically, those students who took four years of arts classes out-performed their peers by 58 points on the verbal portion of the SAT and 38 points on the math portion of the SAT.

Nationwide, the Kennedy Center has been one of the leading forces in arts education for many years. In fact, we work with schools and communities right her in Louisiana—in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. The partnership with Acadiana Arts Council, the Lafayette Parish School System, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is one of our oldest and strongest. The synergy among these three organizations works beautifully to provide quality arts education for teachers, students, and artists of Lafayette and the surrounding parishes. We look forward to building on the work already accomplished and to serve as a resource in the restoration of the arts to every school and to every child in the state. Senate Bill 299 is a critical component of the Cultural Economy Initiatives. Without it, the future of young people and the future of the arts and culture in this great state will be severely diminished.

You face tough choices today. Problems are many and resources are tight. But here in Louisiana, music and dance and theater are in your soul. I urge you to draw on your state’s rich artistic heritage as you continue to build your education system. If your goal is a vibrant, creative economy, there is no greater resource you can call upon than your young people; and arts education is the key to preparing those young people for the future. I can assure you that the Kennedy Center will be a willing and responsive partner in this endeavor.

Thank you very much.